


God Bless the New Founding Fathers.

by Sealifers (TheMercWithAMouth)



Category: Shameless (US), The Purge (2013)
Genre: Ian isn't ill, Lots of mushy stuff, M/M, Multi, Protective Mickey, The Purge AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:54:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2098110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMercWithAMouth/pseuds/Sealifers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shameless Purge AU; Mickey's upkeeping family traditions and Ian's had some bad experiences on purge night. This is their first purge officially together. It follows the 12 hours leading to it and the night as well as a little of the aftermath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 12 Hours

**Author's Note:**

> Anything written in italics is being said by the television which houses are required to keep on for the entire day of the purge. Sometimes characters react to it and sometimes they don't.

_‘Good Morning, South Side. Only 12 hours until this year’s annual purge! We hope you’re all excited, whether you’re realising the beast or just hosting a purge party with your family and friends. Tonight truly is one of the most magical nights of the year. God bless America, a nation reborn, and God bless our new founding fathers for everything they have given us.’_

For as long as he could remember, Ian detested Purge night. He couldn’t see the benefits that it gave anyone on the south side because it was just the shit that they did on the sly being brought into the open.   
“You’re not seriously going out there?” The red head asked Mickey, who was looking at his weapons cupboard rather than helping Ian make plans for locking down the Gallagher house. “You can’t go out there. Mick, please, Mick.” He groaned as the other continued to ignore him.   
  
“It’s a family tradition, Gallagher, me and you being together doesn’t change the shit I do with my family the same way that it doesn’t change the shit you do with yours…” Mickey told him simply. The shorter boy kept his head held high, he couldn’t have his family thinking that he was any weaker now that he was out so this tradition had to continue even if he’d rather be at home protecting Ian and the rest of his new ‘family’. He closed his eyes for a moment before grabbing another gun and throwing it on the table, he’d managed to narrow it down to just 10 now but could only fit 5 in the belt that he had if he wanted to take ammo for each one. “You know Angie’s purging this year?” He asked the red head. “Mandy was speaking to her at the store. Thought it was fucking weird, can’t imagine she’s going to last long out there unless she’s got a target.” He couldn’t help laughing. “Maybe she’s bitter about you finally pinning me down, huh?” He teased but stopped smiling when he saw how irritated Ian looked.

“You’re seriously joking about that shit today?” Ian raised an eyebrow. “You know how fucking serious this all is, Mick. Not all of us think this night is a good thing, we can’t all find joy in shit like this.” Micky’s only response was a sigh as he moved Ian to press him against the wall, his hand sitting on the other’s waist as he locked eyes with him.  
  
“Ian, this isn’t a fun night, I know that. I just think it’s better to make the best out of this shitty night than it is to sit around and upset ourselves over shit that we can’t change. So, cheer up, Firecrotch.” He kissed the other softly and quickly. “Would it make you feel better if I came home by 2? Joined you all for the last few hours of the purge just to make sure that you’re safe and shit?” He nudged Ian gently which actually made the other smile. “Yeah, thought it might be. Now help me pick a gun, jackass.”  He turned back to the table, occasionally glancing at the TV. Ian kept his eyes fixed on it even though he wasn’t sure why they still had it on, all it was going to show was footage from last year’s purge and talk to a few government sponsored individuals who made sure that they told everyone watching just how beneficial the purge was for everything. He couldn’t help noticing that everyone who was government sponsored was a ‘doctor’ or a ‘professor’, there was no one from their side of town shown on the shows.   
  
“Are you seriously taking that many out?” He asked Mickey as he looked over the guns, picking one up and just feeling it for a moment. “Take this one.” He handed the gun he’d been holding over to him before helping Mickey pick out the other ones. “Could I, uh, could I take one to the house with me?” He swallowed.

“You swear that you’ll keep it away from Frank? Last thing any of us need is that jackass getting his hands on a weapon like that.” He smiled, actually feeling better that Ian was taking his gun, at least now he was sure that Ian had some form of protection before he got back to the house. He’d never let Ian know just how worried he was about tonight, he couldn’t help feeling that they’d made themselves targets tonight when they’d come out and it was another reason he was going out instead of making sure that everyone at the Gallagher house was okay. He needed to prove to people that Mickey Milkovich wasn’t about to let anyone fuck with him or with his family, especially his boyfriend.

‘ _So, let’s talk to some of you guys out there about your purge plans. We have our first caller on the line. Caller, can you tell us your name and your plans for tonight’s glorious events?’  
‘ **I didn’t call to tell you my plans, Sally, I called to tell you and everyone else that the government doesn’t give a fuck about poorer neighbourhoods like South Side. They only give a fuck about the fat cats who can afford their big government issue se-** ‘ _

Ian actually paid attention the small exchange, his mouth dropping open as the man was allowed to get most of his point across. It wasn’t unusual for people to call up the station and tell them exactly what they thought on purge night but they were usually cut off when they’d said they weren’t calling to tell them their plans for the night.  “Holy shit.” Ian rubbed his arm as they stared at the TV. “They’re getting slow in their old age, huh?” He shook his head. “You know that poor guy isn’t going to survive tonight…”It wasn’t rare for someone who’d speak out against the new founding fathers to be taken out on purge night, they’d both known a few people who’d said the wrong thing to the wrong person and had disappeared despite being lockdown securely.

“Why do we give a fuck, we don’t know him?” Mickey pointed out, shaking the thoughts of what the government were going to do to the guy from his head. Mickey wasn’t afraid of torture but Mickey was afraid of what those awful bastards did to people who spoke out against them, he was afraid of the rumours that they tortured families instead of just individuals. Ian rubbed the smaller man’s back for a moment, wanting him to know that he understood.

“I should head over to the Gallagher house soon, you wanna come with? I need to check that there’s nothing else we need for dinner tonight and for the lockdown. I’m pretty sure we’ll need to start finding Frank soon.” He rolled his eyes, as much as he hated the man he wasn’t willing to leave another person on the streets on purge night, not even Frank deserved an awful end like that. Ian remembered how awful it had been the one night he’d been trapped outside on purge night, he felt his breath speeding up at the memory but he managed to calm down before Mickey noticed, he didn’t want start stirring up those memories

“Yeah, I’ll come with, Firecrotch.” Mickey pulled the man into one last kiss before he started putting his weapons away. When he was happy they were secure, the pair headed to the front door and grabbed their coats. The latch of the door closed slowly behind them.

‘ _Only 11 hours until the beginning of the annual purge. We hope you’re all having a wonderful day.’_


	2. 10 Hours.

_‘With only 10 hours until the beginning of the purge, we’re reminding you all of the 5 steps to take to ensure that you all have a safe purge if you aren’t participating.’_

Ian groaned at the sound of the TV as they entered the Gallagher house; they’d spent an hour checking on the Alibi and helping Kev to make sure the place was completely locked down since he’d decided not to open it today, the last thing he wanted on his conscious was one of the regulars being killed because he’d let them get drunk and made them unable to defend themselves. The muscular red head walked towards the kitchen and dropped the small amount of food he’d bought there. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking Mickey where everyone was.

“No way, Carl, no way are you leaving this house and going out there. You’re 14. 14 year olds don’t go out tonight, okay?” Fiona’s voice could be heard downstairs and it made Ian and Mickey head upstairs just to see what was going on. They were greeted by Carl holding a bat and Fiona trying to get it off him while she explained multiple reasons that the little sociopath wasn’t going to be allowed to join in the ‘festivities’ of the night.

“Bonnie’s going to be out there, I need to be there to protect her.” The young boy reasoned as he held tightly onto the bat.

“Go get Bonnie, Mickey’ll go with you.” Ian said without even thinking. “Bring her here so that you can protect her without getting yourself hurt, Carl. Then we might think about letting you go out when you’re 16, alright?” He watched the boy let go of the bat and walk over to Mickey. Ian nodded at the black haired man before he let him leave Carl out. “You can’t keep just ordering him around without giving him options.” He told Fiona, taking the bat out of her hands. “I know this is hard, I know today sucks, I’ve been thinking about it too… Almost had a panic attack at Mickey’s when it popped into my head.” He stroked Fiona’s arm for a moment. “It’s been nearly 10 years and I still remember it, every single bit.” He took a deep breath as Fiona moved to hug him, the horror of the shared memory was enough for Ian not to want to let go.

“We should start getting ready for the lockdown, you know.” Fiona told the red head as she moved away from him. She forced herself to smile at her brother, just wanting to give him some form of comfort today but it was a real struggle for her too.  The memories still swam through her head a lot too and she knew it wasn’t good for anyone to think about them so much.

When they got downstairs, Ian grabbed one of their thick wooden boards and a hammer to make a start on sealing the windows up. It had been a process they’d done since they were young… It wasn’t like they could rely on Frank or Monica to protect them from the purge growing up so they’d learnt the best methods of locking down the house early. He ran a hand through his hair as he checked that the first board was secure, he knew that they’d have to seal every single window in the place, it wasn’t unusual for people in their neighbourhood to scale the sides of houses just to get inside and take anything of value after they’d killed the occupants.

“So, uh, is Mickey heading out tonight?” Fiona asked as she started locking down another of the windows with Ian. Ian nodded at the question, not wanting to talk about it in case it upset him. “You worried? You shouldn’t be, Mickey’s managed to go out every purge since he was 16… If there’s anyone that’s prepared for the events of tonight then it’s Mickey Milkovich.” She smacked her hand with the hammer and yelped at the pain. Ian walked over quickly and took her hand, looking over it just to check that she hadn’t hit it too hard and done any damage that would require them going to the hospital. They really didn’t have time for her to go there but if it was necessary then it was necessary.

“You’re okay.” He finally said after a moment. “It’s not broken but it’ll probably hurt for a while.” He gave her a small smile. “And I know that Mickey’ll be okay, he promised that he’d come home by 2 to make sure that we’re all okay and to calm me down a little.” He stroked Fiona’s arm before going back to locking down.

“Good, I’m sort of glad.” She’d never admit it but she liked how happy the little thug made Ian, she liked seeing her little brother having something as special as his relationship with Mickey to live for. “Hey, you know Angie Zago was asking about Mickey the other day?” Ian raised an eyebrow at his sister indicating that she should keep speaking. “Asked if the two of you were still together… She seemed a little, uh,” she moved to her hand as she tried to find the right word to describe the woman’s behaviour, “unhinged? Yeah. She seemed unhinged. It was fucking weird.” She shook her head as she smashed the hammer into the board one final time. “I tell you, all of those guys using her, it’s messed her up inside.”

Ian had to admit that he completely understood why the girl was a little fucked up, most of the south side had been sleeping with her but none of them had ‘feelings’ for her if you asked them. It must’ve been hard to be used and shit like that.

“Yo! We’re home! Ready to start locking down upstairs!” Lip’s voice came from the front door, as did a small ‘hi’ from Debbie. Ian gave them both a little wave and walked to the living room. “Saw Mickey and Carl, shouldn’t be too far behind us. They’d managed to find out where Bonnie was so that’s a good thing…”  
  
“Yeah, yeah.” Ian nodded. “You want me to come help upstairs? Whoever can finish locking down the room they start in first gets the last piece of cake in the fridge.” He smirked as the three of them rushed the stairs at once, each determined to be the one to win.

_‘So whether you’re finally sorting out that kid who keeps egging your house or getting rid of a lover who used you. We hope you enjoy this year’s purge, only 9 hours left!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the nice comments! I promise it'll speed up in the next few chapters, just need to establish some things for you guys! Just so you know, I may differ from canon in regards to the kid's ages!
> 
> Visit my blog: sealifers.tumblr.com


	3. 3 Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey heads out, Ian has a panic attack and Carl has a plan.

_‘It’s just hit 1pm south side and you know what that means! Only 6 hours until the beginning of the annual purge. We hope you’re all getting excited, we’re about to go live on the streets to find out what people are planning to do tonight.’_

“Fucking sick of her cheerful voice.” Mickey grunted at the TV, having had to endure that chirpy little sound bird who was covering this year’s purge for the government’s station this year. That was one rule that he could never get behind, the 24 hour TV coverage that surrounded the purge. He stroked Ian’s hand gently as they sat at the Gallagher’s dinner table, most of the house had been locked down and they were going to start finishing up closer to him. “Hey.” His voice was gentle as he spoke to Ian. “You okay? You’ve spent most of the day staring into space or whispering to and hugging your sister… There something I should know about?” He arched a perfect eyebrow. “You pregnant or something?” He teased, drawing a smile from the red head who sat opposite him. “Nah, seriously, if there’s something going on then all you have to do is tell me.”

“Nothing, it’s nothing…” Ian promised, squeezing Mickey’s hand before he turned his attention back to the TV. “Do you think she’s this happy outside of purge day? I can seriously imagine her doing her purge voice for,” Mickey’s phone going off interrupted Ian’s train of thought for a moment, “uh her purge voice for her kids…”  
  
Mickey nodded as he picked up the phone, reading over the message before huffing. “My brothers need me and I don’t think I’m going to make it back before everything starts.” He got up and walked to Ian, putting his hand on the back of the other’s neck. “I know that tonight is hard, Ian, I also know that when you’re comfortable enough with me then you’ll tell me what really bothers you so much about tonight.” He stroked his boyfriend’s neck lightly, an attempt to soothe both of them at once. “You stay safe and don’t forget that I love you, okay?” He kissed him, making sure that he poured all of the things that he couldn’t say into the kiss. He wanted to tell Ian just how much he loved him, how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him but he was too afraid to let the words leave his mouth, when he did that then everything became a little too real.

“I love you too.” Ian smiled, returning the kiss with just as much feeling as Mickey.  “I’ll see you tonight, okay? Please don’t stay out there all night.” He watched as Mickey moved away and towards the door, a large part of him was terrified that it was the last time he’d see Mickey walking anywhere. He was terrified and now he was alone, he always felt alone if Mickey wasn’t around him.

_‘We’re only 2 hours away from starting time and we hope you’re all just as excited as we are. Don’t forget that after the sirens sound, we’ll be heading straight over to our live feed from the streets of America.’_

Ian glanced up from the magazine he’d been flicking through at the time check, had it really been 4 hours since he’d said goodbye to Mickey? Phones and everything were always too busy to use once they’d passed the 3 hours check point so he hadn’t bothered to text him, it would only be another thing to worry about on top of the rest of the shit that today brought. It had been 10 years ago and Ian still swore that he could hear the screaming, he could smell the blood. He put his head forward as he started thinking about it; he knew how to react to it by now, head down and attempt to calm his breathing, but it didn’t always work straight away and he hated going through it without anyone else.

“Ian!? Ian.” Fiona rushed in through the door when she saw her little brother from the top of the stairs. She knelt in front of him and put her hands on his shoulder. “Come on, breathe. You’re okay… It’s okay, you’re safe now.” She attempted to sound soothing but it was increasingly difficult as Ian became a little more distressed. She remembered the night too but she’d been a little harder when everything had happened, she’d found a way to block out everything and tuck it away but Ian hadn’t. It was terrifying to watch someone so strong in this state. “Ian.” The word made the red head look at her, the fear still filling his eyes as he relived everything that had happened to him.

“We were outside for so long.” He whispered, moving forward to allow her to hug him protectively. “We were kids, Fi…” The tearful words made the woman hug him tighter. It was almost as though she thought the hug could protect him from every memory of that night.

“Come on. You can help me with dinner, yeah?” She felt her own tears coming as she stroked Ian’s hair. “You’re okay, we’re okay. You’re not going outside tonight, you’re not going outside on purge night again.” She promised, leading Ian into the kitchen and making sure that he was busied with helping her. She wished that the other would tell Mickey what had happened so that he wouldn’t go outside and could comfort Ian, he was the only thing that could keep Ian properly calm tonight.

Carl sat with Bonnie at the top of the Gallagher’s staircase, listening carefully to what Fiona was saying to Ian and attempting to figure out just what was going on downstairs.   
“So, your brother was outside once?” Bonnie raised an eyebrow at the other, despite the seriousness of the questions, there was a glimmer of mischief in her eyes.   
“I don’t know, I guess?” Carl shrugged.   
“I think you should follow in his footsteps… It’s not so bad out there from what I’ve heard.” The girl smirked as she tilted her head. She held her hand up as Carl went to speak. “I know what Fiona said but if we say we’re going to bed early and make sure that we don’t completely lock down the back door, no one’s going to try to get in and your family is armed anyway.” She reasoned.   
“Sounds cool.” Carl smirked back at her, the glimmer of mischief now spreading to him. “Let’s do it.”


	4. The Beginning.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the beginning of the annual purge. Who'll survive the night?

‘ _This is the Emergency Broadcast System announcing the commencement of the annual purge. At the siren, all emergency services will be suspended for 12 hours. Your government thanks you for your participation. God Bless the New Founding Fathers and God Bless America.’_

Ian felt body going numb as the familiar words were spoken, his boyfriend was out there somewhere and it was all he could think of now. Even while he wasn’t around, Mickey was distracting Ian from his own memories and Ian made a mental note to thank him for just being in his life. The sirens always sounded like they’d been moved closer to the house or made louder, it was one of the worst noises in the world.

“Are you ready?” Bonnie whispered to Carl. Her eyes not leaving the screen as she spoke, she didn’t want to draw too much attention to the conversation she was having with Carl. They’d made the decision to sneak out through the back door of the house, it was the easiest to sneak out of when everyone was distracted by the TV and the sounds outside. Carl had made sure to disable the small trip alarm that they’d created after the older boys did their final check. The only other piece of defence for that door was a wooden bar that was thrown across it and Carl had already tested it to see if they could move it silently and they could. He smirked slightly to himself after he thought about the plan after the question.

“We need to wait.” He replied. “They’re not into it enough yet.” He nodded at the TV, which had switched the quiet streets of Chicago. It always took about half an hour before the events of the night really started so Carl knew that they might have to wait until the violence started before they could sneak out. He was happy to miss a couple of events if they got to go outside and experience the bigger ones that happened later on in the purge.

*****

Mickey’s thoughts had barely drifted from Ian since he’d left the Gallagher house. He wanted to go back, he wanted to be there to protect his boyfriend but this stupid family tradition had to come first today. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath before he started listening to his brother as they talked about some shithead they wanted to attack if they saw him tonight. He went to roll his eyes but was interrupted by the sound of the siren the only thing Mickey could compare it to was the bell that rang before a round of boxing, when each opponent would be sizing up the competition but this fight was never as quick and easy as those. He hated the way that they ripped through him, the way that they turned his brothers into something far more animalistic than they usually were. Those sirens didn’t just remove the threat of legal repercussions from the other Milkovich boys, they stripped away any morals that the boys had.

“What’s up, Mick?” Iggy asked as they walked towards the richer area, knowing that far more new people headed for these areas than any other because they thought there’d be something worth stealing for the rich yards that littered the neighbourhoods. It didn’t take them long to find their first victim which took the attention off Mickey, who didn’t want to answer the question. He watched as his brothers attacked the guy, sending bullets through his kneecaps before they really went to work on him. Mickey found himself closing his eyes at the other man’s cries of pain as his brothers beat him to death, which meant that he didn’t see his brothers turning around. “You closing your eyes?” Iggy growled at him. “Knew you’d change once you settled down with him.” He practically spat the last word, resenting Ian for taking away the Mickey he’d once knew.

“I haven’t changed.” Mickey’s eyes flew open and instantly glared at the taller man. “I’m still the same fucking guy that I always was. Now I just don’t see the fun in this shit, what exactly are you getting from killing this asshole?” He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t even fucking rob him, you amateurs. You’re never going to fucking get anywhere without me or your old man holding your hands if you carry on being as fucking stupid as you are.” He stood his ground as the other two moved closer to him, his outburst still processing with them for a moment.

“You turned pussy on us, little brother.” Iggy growled before Mickey put a hand on his chest to make him stop walking towards him.

“You wanna fucking say that again?” Mickey growled.

“You. Turned. Into. A. Pussy.” The other repeated slowly, resulting in Mickey tearing the bat from his hands and glaring.

“I’m a fucking pussy, huh?” Mickey took the lead, walking with his brothers until they found another wanderer. He nodded, indicating that Colin should shoot the guy’s kneecaps which he did. He walked over to the man and gave a forced smirk. “Would a pussy do this?” His words were directed at Iggy but his eyes never left the guy in front of him. He proceeded to use the bat he’d taken from his brother to beat the man, taking every bit of anger that he felt from his brother’s words and focusing it on this guy. He walked away when he was sure that the guy was dead, his jeans covered in spots of blood and the bat a deep crimson from the amount of blood that was on it. “You two want that to happen to you?” He asked them. He waited for them to shake their heads before he rolled his eyes. “Then shut the fuck up and remember your fucking places” He handed the bat over to Iggy. As they walked away, he didn’t dare look back at the guy, the guilt was beginning to eat at him already. He’d never felt like this before… He suspected that it was because the only person he’d ever had a real connection to before Ian was Mandy but now he had a family and he’d just taken some poor bastard away from his.

*****

Carl waited until the purge stream had properly started to tap Bonnie to indicate that it was time to leave. The older Gallagher boys were struck by the footage, as was Kev, none of them noticed anything that was actually going on around them. Carl could practically see Ian’s thoughts, all of them about what might be happening to Mickey out there. Mandy, Fiona, Vee, Debbie and the younger ones had all headed upstairs to try and get the twins and Liam off to sleep, much to Mandy’s dismay because she’d wanted to stay close to Ian and Lip for reasons that she wasn’t willing to disclose to anyone. Carl swallowed slightly as they got to the back door, helping Bonnie lift the small wooden plank, before saying a silent goodbye to his family and slipping out of it. He glanced at the large timer that sat on the side of the rail near the house. _11 hours remaining._

And then that was it, Bonnie and Carl were out on the purge and the Gallagher family were all sat in the house with a false sense of security. No one in the house registered the glint of a gun in the yard as the light from the house hit it.


	5. 10 Hours.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey finds Carl. Ian gets a visitor.

_10 hours remain._

Mickey had decided to turn in early after what he’d done, he’d proved himself to his brothers and now all he wanted was to spend the rest of the night with his boyfriend. He’d made it back without much of an issue thanks to the neighbourhood that they lived in. Contrary to what the fat cats that apparently ruled this place thought, the people in their neighbourhood rarely fought on their home turf unless there was an underlying issue, why would they fight in their home when they could fight in the rich bastard’s homes and make them clean it all up in the morning? As he nearer the Gallagher house, he saw two small figures leaving it and he instantly knew who it was after their little discussion that morning. “Fucking Carl.” He muttered under his breath as he decided to head after the two kids instead of going straight back to Ian. He knew that it would mean more to Ian if he brought Carl and his girl home safe than it would if he just kept telling him that Carl would be okay.   
“Carl.” He growled, not wanting to draw too much attention to them but wanting the other to know that he was being following.

“We’re not going back. I’ve always been fine out here!” Bonnie called back to Mickey, drawing the attention of anyone who was on the street with them. Mickey’s eyes widened as he made sure to run faster and in turn make Bonnie and Carl run faster.

“Carl, don’t do this to your family.” The words made Carl stop instantly. It showed that despite how much the kid loved causing trouble, he was a Gallagher at heart and he knew exactly what was important in the world that they lived in. Mickey moved them all into a nearby alley and sighed. “That little display could’ve cost us something big.” He knew that it wasn’t likely, they were pretty safe on south side but he still didn’t want the two of them wandering around by themselves. “What’s it going to take to get the two of you back to that house and safe?” He raised an eyebrow. He knew that it was better to let them choose to come back rather than forcing them and have them running out again.

“We wanna see some of the stuff that’s happening out here.” Carl shrugged which made Mickey groan.

“Fine. Follow me and keep quiet.” He walked out of the alley and kept them near to him. If they wanted to see some of the shit that was happening, he wasn’t going to let them see any of it alone.

*****

Ian frowned a little as he let himself look away from the purge stream, he’d been watching it for any sign of Mickey but at this point he figured that no news was good news. He headed into the kitchen and made a start on fixing Mickey something to eat when he came back, it would distract him for at least a portion of the time that he had to wait for Mickey and he was begging for anything to do that. As he stood at the breakfast bar, he glanced at the gun that was sat on the table, he made a note that he should either move it somewhere less visible or keep it on him but he could take care of that later.

He started to dig through the fridge in an attempt to find something that Mickey might actually want to eat.

“Ian Gallagher.” The familiar voice of Angie Zago came from behind him, the sound of Ian pushing jars and things around in the fridge had masked the quiet noises that the door had made as it opened. The redhead froze, too afraid to even warn his family that the house had been compromised. “Hands up, Ian. Now.” Angie snapped and Ian made himself comply, dropping the jar that was in his hands and alerting the rest of the house to the fact that something was wrong.

“Ian? Are y-.” Lip put his hands up the moment the gun in Angie’s hands was directed at him, glancing at his brother just to check that he was still standing. When he was sure that he was safe, he looked away and kept his eyes on Angie.

“I don’t want to hurt either of you. I don’t want to hurt anyone in this house. I want to talk to Mickey, where is he?” Angie’s words were quick and Ian could tell she was nervous, he could only imagine the amount of adrenaline that was currently flowing through the woman.

“He’s not here. He went out tonight.” Ian answered quickly. For the first time all day, he was happy that Mickey was nowhere near him, it meant that he was safe and didn’t have to go through whatever Angie wanted to put him through.

“He coming back?” Angie walked closer to the pair, signalling that Lip should move closer to Ian and make the taller boy turn around to face her. Ian’s eyes widened at the sight of the gun being aimed at him, it suddenly made everything that was happening right now a little more real. It was hard for Ian, he wanted Mickey here but he also knew that the only way the other would be safe was if he stayed away.

“I don’t know. I promise, I don’t know.” Ian said quickly.

“You’re lying! Tell me or I shoot.” Angie moved the gun to Lip and the even caused tears to prick at Ian’s eyes.

“No. No, I’m sorry. Yes… Yes he’s coming back b-but I don’t know when a-and I don’t know who he’ll be with.” He hated himself for betraying Mickey like that but he needed to keep his family safe as well as Mickey.

“Call the others. We’re all going to sit here and wait for your boyfriend, Gallagher. If he doesn’t show before the nights over, I’m taking something important from Milkovich.” She ordered, watching as Lip called the others and told them to come unarmed, she then instructed Ian and Lip to go into the living room. She wasn’t about to give up the chance to confront Mickey Milkovich.

*****

Mickey had Bonnie and Carl around the edges of the south side, showing them a couple of beatings and a quick but messy murder before he’d started leading them back to the Gallagher house. It hadn’t exactly gone to plan and now he was carrying Carl as he quickly ran towards the Gallagher house. “Bonnie, keep up. He’ll be okay. Promise.” He called back to the girl as he ran. He stopped every so often to let the shorter kid catch up to him. He knew he’d fucked up but he also knew that the wound wasn’t fatal if he got Carl to Vee soon. He could still hear Bonnie sobbing as they got to the end of Ian’s street. ”Kid, kid.” He held Carl tightly as he looked at Bonnie. “Calm down, okay? This isn’t fatal and he’ll wake up once the shock passes. He’s just not used to seeing this much blood pouring from his leg.” He took a deep breath.

“It’s all my fault. I killed him.”

Mickey rolled his eyes and led her up to the Gallagher house. He slammed his fist on Ian’s door twice. “Yo Ian! Open up! It’s me.”


	6. The Gallagher House.

“Ian! Open up. Jesus.” Mickey groaned as he banged on the door again. He didn’t like that there was no reply from inside the Gallagher house, Ian had promised that he would stay downstairs and wait for Mickey to show. “Ian.” He snapped, the more worried he got then the more his anger showed. “Fuck.” He whispered, tapping to Bonnie and indicating that they should move to the back door.

*****

“He doesn’t have to know about this, you don’t need to do this to us.” Ian attempted to reason with Angie the moment he heard Mickey’s voice. He wanted to protect Mickey and he didn’t need the man to spill any more blood tonight. “You can put the gun down and you can just tell him that you were stuck outside. C’mon.” He took a deep breath as he looked up from the sofa, where the entire party sat. He swallowed as he heard Mickey reaching the back door.

“You.” Angie pointed the gun at Ian, completely ignoring the fact that the other had spoken at all. She wasn’t prepared to back down now, she’d come this far and she didn’t trust any of the Gallagher family as far as she could throw them. “Get up. We’re going to make sure that he can’t make his move before I do.” She grabbed Ian’s arm when he was close enough, twisting it before the boy could react. ROTC training had been so long ago that he was losing some of those catlike reflexes that he’d once been so proud of. Ian took a deep breath as he felt the cold barrel of the gun being pressed against his temple. “Anyone makes a move and I blow his pretty red head off. Clear?” The girl threatened as she walked forward, cocking the gun as the back door opened.

“Mickey. Don’t do anything.” Ian warned the moment he saw the brunette, his eyes instantly dropping to the small boy that lay in his arms. “Carl?! W-why are bring-.” He was cut off by Angie jabbing him with the gun.

“Put your weapons down, Mickey. Put the kid down, put whatever you took out with you down.” She tried to sound confident but Ian could hear the fear in her voice.

Mickey stared at them, too stunned to properly react at first. “You have to let me get the kid to Vee… Let me help the kid and I’ll do whatever you want.” He looked at Ian as he spoke, his eyes silently asking if the other was okay. This was all Mickey’s fault and he knew it, if he’d never gone out then Angie would never have gotten this close to his boyfriend. “That’s all I’m asking, okay? Let me get the kid some help.” He made sure that Bonnie was behind him as he spoke, he didn’t want her making some dumb panicked move and putting Ian in any more danger.

Angie glanced at him for a second, keeping the gun close to Ian as she nodded. “Disarm as soon as you put him down.” She repeated, backing up so Mickey couldn’t come near her and so that she could still see everything that was happening. She watched as the small brunette placed the teen in front of Vee and instructing Bonnie to stay with him. “I said as soon as.” The girl’s finger hovered over the trigger.

“Okay! Okay. Don’t.” Mickey took his gun out, placing it calmly on the kitchen table where the gun that he’d loaned to Ian sat. “You gotta let him go.  Do whatever you want to me… J-just don’t touch him, okay?” The man licked his bottom lip, keeping his eyes on Ian as he spoke. The other didn’t deserve to get hurt for whatever mistakes Mickey made in the past.

“Not until you’ve listened to me.” Angie’s grip tightened on Ian’s arm. “You humiliated me. You laughed at me. You used me.” She glared. “Why shouldn’t I kill the only thing that you’ve ever actually cared about? Why should I make you feel useless and worthless? Why do you get someone who cares about you?” She was on the verge of tears as she spoke but she didn’t let up her hold on Ian.

“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know and I don’t deserve it. I’m sorry… I’m sorry for the shit that I did to you. I didn’t actually mean to do any of it… I knew I was in love with him and it was fucking wrong. Just don’t hurt him! Please.” Mickey wasn’t above begging for Ian, he’d promised to keep him safe. “Look. Kill me if you want to punish someone, do whatever the fuck you need to do to me. Don’t take him away from me like this…” He felt the tears pricking his eyes at the idea he might lose Ian. “Just… Just let him come over here so I can say goodbye before you do anything to me.” He looked up in an attempt to stop the tears that would inevitably come.

“Mick…” Ian’s voice broke half way through the word and left him unable to say any more. He could barely move when Angie let go of his arm. He didn’t want that last hug, he didn’t want that last bit of contact with Mickey because he didn’t want any of this to end.

“Say goodbye now or you don’t get to do it at all.” Angie growled, her hand shaking as she continued to aim the gun at Ian.

Mickey moved forward to Ian, putting his hand on the other man’s cheek. “You know how much I love you, Ian.” He whispered, his words meant only for Ian and not for anyone else in that room. They didn’t need to hear any of this shit. “You know that I’d… I’d, fucking, I’d give you anything in the world.” The words were getting harder and harder to say. As time had gone on, Mickey had planned these words less and less. “Promise me that you won’t do anything stupid, okay Firecrotch?” He couldn’t help but laugh at the name. The words even received a teary laugh from Ian. The entire scene had gripped the attention of every single person in that damn room. This new side of Mickey, this intimate side, was something that no one other than Ian had seen and it was likely that none of them were ever going to see it again.

The attention that was on the pair was only broken by a sharp sound, a gunshot ringing through the Gallagher house.


	7. Goodbye.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who are we saying goodbye to?!

“No one fucks with the Gallaghers.” Debbie’s words followed the shot, any noise from Angie was silenced by the bullet that had torn through her throat. Ian stared at the girl as she fell. The relief that swept over him was enough to drown out the sounds of everyone rushing around in order to help Carl. He turned to look at Debbie, mouthing a ‘thank you’ at the small girl as he tried to figure out how he was going to make this better for her. He could see Lip attempting to comfort Mandy and for a split second he felt like it was 10 years ago all over again. He instantly moved his arms to grab Mickey, to hold onto something that would remind him he was still in the present day.

“Come on.” Mickey could see that Ian was somewhat dazed and it prompted him to get the other away from all of the noise in the living room. He led him upstairs and made sure to sit him down, not speaking as he did so. He didn’t know if Ian just wanted to be held but he thought that might be best for the red head right now.

It took 15 minutes before Ian was ready to speak to Mickey, ready to tell him exactly what made this night so awful for him. “I need to speak to you about something.” He whispered. The words made Mickey give him a comforting squeeze, one that silently told him to continue. “When I was 9… Lip was 10, Fi was about 14… I don’t remember exactly. Carl was 3, Debs was 4.” He took a deep breath. “Monica took us on Purge night a-and Frank wasn’t around, we didn’t know where he was and we couldn’t protect ourselves without one of those useless fucks.” He felt the anger building at the story, it wasn’t far that they’d relied on people who didn’t give a fuck about them on the worst night of the year. “She took us to this dive bar, told us to wait outside for her and she’d c-come get u-us before the bar locked down. We’d be safe in the bar, right? Why wouldn’t we be safe in the fucking bar?” He swallowed. “She never showed and the bar locked down with us banging on the door. We were begging them, ‘please!? Our mom is in there, please help us! Please!’ We were screaming and banging and Carl and Debbie were getting more and more upset.” He whimpered slightly, angry tears forcing themselves out.

Mickey listened to the story and couldn’t do anything but hold Ian. His dad was a homophobic prick who’d never let them stay in on purge night after his mom had passed, but before that, she’d never have let her little ones go anywhere near the danger on those streets even if their surname was Milkovich.

“We had to run down an alley, hide behind this dumpster with Carl and Debbie still terrified. Some purgers walked down there, they could hear the other two before Lip managed to comfort them. When they called whoever was behind there out, Fi and I went so that the others wouldn’t have to go through whatever they were going to put us through.” He wiped his eyes. “I don’t regret it, it fucked me up b-but I don’t regret saving my brothers and sister.” He looked down. “They held me down and… Those dumb scars that I told you were from ROTC… They weren’t. I’ve had them since I was 9. They cut me up like a fucking piece of meat. They were laughing as they did the same to Fiona. I thought I was going to die, I thought that they’d find me in a pool of my blood in that dirty alley.” He swallowed. “But they didn’t. The wounds weren’t deep enough to kill us, no other purgers approached when they saw us bleeding. It kept us safe until the announcement the next morning.” He sniffed, wiping his eyes once again. “Now every time I think about tonight, my entire body throbs with pain and fear and everything that I’m not supposed to show because of the training and shit.” He looked up at Mickey, who hadn’t looked at him properly since he’d began speaking. “Do you hate me? Because I-I… I don’t know, because I’m so fucked up and afraid of this shit.”

“No I don’t fucking hate you, what kind of stupid question is that?” Mickey raised an eyebrow at the other. “It’s just a lot to take in. Not one of you fucking deserved being left outside in the cold like that, Ian, and none of you should have to be scared of tonight.” He moved himself so that he could look at him properly. “I can’t make tonight any less shit really… I can’t take back all of the shit that happened to you before. I can’t give you that but I can give you a promise, I swear that I’ll protect you from any shit that tries to hurt you…Tonight or any other night. I can promise that I’ll never leave you alone the way that she did.”

The words brought a smile to Ian’s face, even if it didn’t reach his eyes quite yet. He actually believed that Mickey was going to be around for him, after tonight he knew that Mickey would give anything in order to keep Ian safe and it made his heart swell every time he thought about it.

“I guess what I’m trying to ask you, in my own fucked up way, is if you’ll marry me.” Mickey said plainly. “Might be the easiest way of me protecting you, Firecrotch. It’s legal and shit now plus I’ve been feeling lonely since I got rid of my ‘wife’.” He couldn’t help teasing Ian in an attempt to relieve the feeling in the air. Sure, the proposed wasn’t going to fix what had happened in the past but he hoped that it might alleviate some of Ian’s anxiety in the future.

“You’re serious?” Ian’s eyes widened. He never thought that he’d hear the words coming out of Mickey’s mouth. He was stunned to say the least.

“The fuck would I joke about this for?” He looked confused at Ian’s reaction, suddenly realising that the other’s answer might now automatically be yes. The thought terrified Mickey.

“Fuck. Yes. Jesus Christ.” He moved to kiss the other slowly, enjoying the fact that they didn’t have to share this moment with anyone. As much as he loved his family, they didn’t really need to share in a moment so precious and personal to Ian.

“I love you, Mick.”  
“I know, Firecrotch, feeling’s mutual… Fuck… I love you.”

The words were almost over shadowed by the sound of a siren outside.

  _Announcing the end of the annual purge. Only 364 days to go until the next._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I'll be posting the first chapter of my next story soon :3

**Author's Note:**

> There'll be jumps between the hours but I'll make sure you all know!


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